1863 Mexican emperor referendum

1863 11 18 Second Federal Republic of Mexico 6445564 0 74.77 6445564 8620982 A referendum on Maximilian becoming Emperor was held in Mexico on 4 December 1863.Müller Beat 1863-12-04 Mexiko, 4. Dezember 1863 : Erzherzog Maximilian von Habsburg-Lothringen als Kaiser -- [in German] https://www.sudd.ch/event.php?lang=en&id=mx011863 2025-03-30 www.sudd.ch en The proposal was supposedly approved by 100% of voters, with not a single vote cast against. Maximilian subsequently took the throne on 11 April 1864, starting the era of the Second Mexican Empire. Background In 1861 Mexican president Benito Juárez declared a moratorium on the country's debt as it was effectively bankrupt. The country's creditors, Spain, France, and Great Britain decided to take action and formalized plans to militarily intervene in Mexico at the Convention of London on October 31, 1861. The port of Veracruz was occupied, but Spain and Great Britain began to back away as they realized France intended to overthrow the Mexican government in a plot that gained collaboration from Mexican monarchists. On 10 June 1863, French troops, commanded by General Élie Frédéric Forey, captured Mexico City. Forey organized a new Mexican government which resolved to establish a Mexican monarchy and invite Maximilian to assume the Imperial Crown. He agreed but put forth the condition that the Empire had to be ratified by a national plebiscite. Napoleon III subsequently passed orders down to Marshal Bazaine to arrange such a referendum. Conduct thumb|right|300px|Map of French occupied territories The referendum has been characterized as fraudulent.Ober Frederick 1883 Young Folk's History of Mexico Estes and Lauriat 491Kemper J. 1911 Maximilian in Mexico Chicago A. C. McClurg & Co 18–20Vigil Jose 1884 Mexico a traves de los siglos: Tomo V La Reforma Ballesca y Comp 622 esVerdia Luis Perez 1892 Compendio de la Historia de Mexico https://archive.org/details/compendiodelahi02verdgoog/page/481/mode/1up 481 esPriestly Joseph 1923 https://archive.org/details/mexicannationhis00prie/page/354/mode/1up The Mexican Nation: A History 354Meyer Michael 1979 The Course of Mexican History Oxford University Press 392 The invading French army only conducted the referendum in the occupied areas between Mexico City and Veracruz. When the leading citizens of Potosí refused to sign acts of adhesion, the French had them imprisoned for thirty six hours until they yielded.Kemper J. 1911 Maximilian in Mexico Chicago A. C. McClurg & Co 19–20 The results were also manipulated by taking referendum returns from certain areas in a region and adding the total number of the region's population to the votes.M.M. McAllen 112–113 Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. 2014 978-1-59534-183-9 Voters signed a register (which ultimately weighed 700 lbs) that was subsequently passed to Maximilian in Trieste. Mexican historian José María Vigil wrote that Maximilian's acceptance of the results amounted to "a true excess in credulity."Vigil Jose 1884 Mexico a traves de los siglos: Tomo V La Reforma Ballesca y Comp 635 es Results The official figures are not deemed credible. Jankoff further disputed the unanimous figure and suggested that only 18 of the 24 states returned affirmative results, with around 7,303,000 votes for a monarchy led by Maximilian and around 1,162,000 against. 6445564 0 6445564 8620982 Direct Democracy References Mexico Emporer Category:Referendums in Mexico Category:Monarchy referendums Mexico Category:Restoration of the monarchy